I happened to be near a local Moxies today so I went in just to ask a few questions about possibly eating there in the future. The two hostesses on were wonderful in answering my questions and had a genuinely positive attitude towards customers with allergies. I was assured that DS's allergies would be accomidated for and that they (Moxies) take allergies VERY seriously. I asked if there was a time of day better for us to dine or if there was a specific time/day which would be inconvenient for us to dine. I was assured, with smiles and sincerity that at any time we would be welcome and that no matter what day it is or how busy they are they will ALWAYS take the time to ensure a meal safe for any customer with allergies.
I also liked their approach to his allergies, they said that instead of for hunting for one safe menu item just to talk to a manager when we come in and let them know what we were hoping for DS to eat. From there they would see if they could accomidate DS with that dish and make any changes to the dish to ensure it was safe.

Glad to hear that Moxie's in Ottawa is consistent with their policy. When we travel we look for Moxie's. My daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. The manager always come to the table. We always call ahead anyway to give a heads up.

We have been to Moxie's in London and Windsor, Ontario, Edmonton and Calgary, Kelowna and Victoria.

Cathie, this is very interesting... What were your experiences with the Moxies in Calgary? Which one did you go to?

DH has Celiac Disease, and we have a very difficult time finding an affordable place to eat out. Earl's is about as affordable as it gets... I'm suspecting DS1 may have CD too, but we have yet to do the CD Screen.

DH had the day off so we decided to go to Moxies for lunch, Blair and Ogilvie in Gloucester (Ottawa). We went right at 11 as we knew this location gets busy. I went inside first to talk to the hostess, she was amazing and told me to wait and she'd be back with the kitchen chef. Not only was he (Chris Pearson) the kitchen head chef but it turns out although he works out of this Moxies location he is also the Regional Chef for all Ottawa area Moxies. He assured me that to cook for our DS was not an issue, they take allergies extremely seriously and many customers have allergies who dine there.
From the first moment I let them know why I was there our experience was exceptional. I mean, I couldn't have asked for anything more. Mr. Pearson went over in detail our son's allergies, then I said that due to his age and rage of food there was only a few things I thought he would eat. Fries are not an option or their pizza dough BUT it took Mr. Pearson only a few seconds to think of a solution. He went to the kitchen and came back with all the ingredients in their NAAN bread and pizza sauce. He also took the time himself to discuss dessert and to figure out what he could offer our son . Luckily it is easy to please DS and whipped cream is on the menu(a favorite of DS).

I over heard our waitress tell the others to be sure anyone who dealt with our table wash their hands well. Julie, our waitress was AWESEOME and when I say 'got it' she 'got it' regarding allergies. I even over heard the hostess telling others where to seat us so we would feel the most comfortable and where they could directly see our table in case we had any issues.

The head chef himself brought DS out his food AND he was wearing gloves to handle DS's plate. The pizza on the naan bread was amazing and no one would ever have known it wasn't standard pizza crust, actually, it was better. He'd even pushed out the dough into a circle so it looked exactly identical to a small pizza even in appearance.
When they brought DS out his whipped cream it was in a small dessert bowl inside another bowl with dried ice. Even though he couldn't eat the other desserts he could still get the fun of having a dessert volcano. The entire dessert plate with spoon was freshly washed, they thought of everything. I know our waitress really did 'get it' as DS had a small amount of pizza left and before I even asked to take it she suggested not taking it for him to eat as take out containers are open in the kitchen and she couldn't confirm them to be safe. I would 100 over rather NOT take him home left overs knowing they aren't safe than bring them home for him to eat and not have someone tell me the container may not be safe. That really showed us that the entire front room and kitchen staff absolutely GET IT!

The head chef, Chris, then came out again to our table with his personal business card. On it he wrote out what he used for DS's pizza with extra instructions. He let us know to show that to any Moxies and DS would be well taken care of. If we had any concerns or questions to let him know as he is responsible for all Ottawa regional Moxies being the regional chef.

This was just a wonderful dining experience...and my and DH's food was amazing also!!
Moxies

Wonderful story!! I will remember to ask about making a naan bread pizza if we ever take the kids. Do you know why the fries wouldn't be safe? The whipped cream vocano is a great idea, I thought of bringing some jello pudding to put in the volcano since it is such a favorite.

(for the grown ups, the Mosaic Dip is the best food item on the planet, but does contain dairy)

A big concern with the fries was sesame. So many spices, bread crumbs etc. have sesame trace so there was the worry of unknown cross contamination as other food items are cooked in the same fryer.

The pizza tasted really really good, I actually preferred the crust and as I make home made naan thought I'd use that recipe for my pizza crust from now on. If someone didn't know about the crust they would never guess it was different , they would just think it was good.

Thanks, I missed the sesame allergy in your list. The naan is excellent at Moxies and comes with many of their dishes. I haven't taken the kids their yet, we always go to the same place that I feel is safe, but it really does sound like a good option.

It is one of only 3 restaurants I can remember walking out of without eating a thing . . . We ordered soft drinks and reviewed the menu. Tried to find something that our son could eat - the best they could come up with was broiled skinless boneless chicken breast with salt and pepper and mixed green salad with oil & vinegar dressing. . . .basically nothing was safe. I think DS was about 15 at the time and while he would have liked to stay and enjoy the "environment', he certainly wasn't going to eat "that" for supper!

So, we decided to leave and, to top it all off, THEY MADE US PAY FOR OUR SOFT DRINKS. Ever since then, it's be a definate pass. I also know someone with Celiac who can only eat the mixed greens salad there as well.

Are they not a chain and shouldn't all experiences be somewhat similar?

_________________adult son allergic to peanuts, most tree nuts, eggs and penicillin.

mharasym, That is very unfortunate. A negative experience while dining out can really affect how one feels about that particular establishment long term.
If it is somewhere you wish to try again in the future I would call ahead to the head office and ask if allergy policies are the same at all Moxies, if not...WHY? Let them know you would like to eat there but don't want to waste your time if it isn't possible. Ask if the managment, head chef is the same still now as 3 years ago, that might answer your question right there .

Are there other restaurants you have eaten out with your DS safely over the years?

Even if all restaurants are supposed to have the same policy, the management and staff at different restaurants can have different training and ideas about how they want to do things. I'm not sure they all understand the severity of what they are dealing with. We've had different experiences at the same restaurant with DH and CD. Some of the staff is really well informed (trained?) and others aren't.

If you do have a negative experience, it is definitely worth calling the head office to report it.

We eat out all the time (probably too much!). DS has never had a reaction at any restaurant. (Need a knock on wood smilie!) There are so many choices that it isn't a priority to make Moxie's work. It's just interesting how one's experience can be so very different. Although comparing what makes a 3 YO happy vs a 15 YO (I doubt a bowl of whipped cream would entice my young adult - unless it somehow involved the waitress ) isn't really fair. Could he have eaten the chicken breast and salad if there was no other choice around? Sure, but why bother when Tony Romas, Boston Pizza, Olive Garden, & Montana's are all within walking distance (almost the same parking lot!) and they have great offerings available.

_________________adult son allergic to peanuts, most tree nuts, eggs and penicillin.

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